Parents

Biography

Birth: Pierre Thibodeau was born in 1631 in Les Moutiers, Vendee, Poitou, France.

Marriage: He and Jeanne Theriault were married in 1659 in Port Royal, Acadia, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Death: Pierre Thibodeau died on December 26, 1704, at age ~73, in Port Royal, Acadia, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Note: Thibodeau family

Telegraph-Journal, Wednesday, August 10, 1994; p. A8

The ancestor of this family in Acadia, Pierre Thibodeau, is believed to have been born in 1630 in Marans, a village near La Rochelle, France. He followed Emmanuel LeBorgne de Belle-Isle to Acadia as a young man during the middle of the 1650s. Shortly after his arrival he married a young Acadian girl, Jeanne ThTriault, who gave birth to 17 children.

Pierre Thibodeau settled approximately 17 kilometres from the mouth of the Port-Royal river in a lovely spot called PrTe-Ronde. There he built his house, his farm and his flour and grist mill. Pierre was undoubtedly prosperous but he had larger ambitions. On June 20, 1695, Governor de Frontenac granted him on the Kennebec river (Maine), a seigniory two leagues deep and a league on each bank of the Kennebec river along with the islands.

At the age of 67, the enterprising Pierre Thibodeau decided to found a new community on the northern part of Baie Frantaise (Fundy) called Chipoudie, now Hopewell Cape. He associated his sons and a few neighbors for this new foundation and had the necessary machinery for a flour and grist mill brought over from Boston.

In addition to his occupations as a farmer and a miller, Pierre Thibodeau was also a merchant. He traded furs with the Indians. Pierre Thibodeau died at PrTe-Ronde and was buried at Port-Royal on December 27, 1704. His children settled at Port-Royal, Grand-PrT and Chipoudie.

In 1755, the Thibodeaus were deported to Massachusetts, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Several of them escaped deportation and found refuge in Quebec while others ended up in France or in Louisiana. One of Pierre Thibodeau's grandchildren, Olivier, married to +lisabeth Melanson, abandoned all of his properties at the time of the Deportation and fled to Quebec. Once there an epidemic of measles decimated his family including Olivier and his wife. They left behind three orphans: one of them Urbain, married Anastasie Deblois in 1777.

He was father to Pierre-Chrysologue Thibaudeau who settled at Cap-SantT (Quebec) and fathered 16 children, several of whom became merchants and politicians.

The Madawaska Thibodeaus are descended from Jean-Baptiste Thibodeau and Marie LeBlanc from Grand-PrT. Jean-Baptiste sought refuge with with his family on the Saint John river, then at Quebec after the destruction of the community of Sainte-Anne (Fredericton) in 1759. He returned to the Saint John river during the 1770s and settled at Saint-Basile after the arrival of the Loyalists. There he died in 1795.

The Thibodeaus of the Tracadie and Miramichi areas are descended from Alexis, son of RenT, son of Pierre. Alexis Thibodeau was deported to Massachusetts where he married Marguerite Dupuis in 1763. In 1767, he managed to get closer to Acadia by moving to Trois-RiviFres (QuTbec). In 1777, he migrated to the St. John Rivers. After the arrival of the Loyalists, members of his family moved to Baie-Sainte-Anne and to Tracadie.

Johan Theriault

Parents

Biography

Birth: Johan Theriault was born in 1601 in Martaize, Loudun, Vienne, Poitou, France.

Marriage: He and Perrine Brault were married on May 8, 1635 in Martaize, Loudun, Vienne, Poitou, France.

Death: Johan Theriault died in 1686, at age ~85, in Port Royal, Acadia, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Note: At the time, it was common practice to modify ones family name. And so, records indicate today's "Theriault" name came from "Terriot"-"Theriot"- "Theriau"-"Therriault" and finally to "Theriault".

It would appear that Jehan TERRIOT, the grand daddy of all "Theriault's" in North America, was recruited as a labourer in New France, by Charles de Menou, Sieur D'Aulnay and Charnisay and Governor of Acadia from 1604-1650. While Jehan TERRIOT'S birth certificate is not available, the first Acadia Census of 1671 indicates that he lived in Port Royal and was, at the time, 70 years old. It is therefore safe to assume, that JEHAN was born "ABT 1601". The 1671 Port Royal Acadian Census indicates that JEHAN and his family owned six cattle and one sheep at the time the census was taken. Historians have not been able to locate records of Jehan, Perrine and Claude (their oldest son)'s "boarding pass" registering their Sea voyage from France to Acadia, New France however it is estimated they arrived in the late 1630's or early 1640's. Historical documents confirm that Jehan was in fact a recruit of Charles de Menou in 1635. We also know that Charles de Menou of D'Aulnay, conducted two significant "recruitment voyages", one in 1642 and another in 1644. On both occasions, he transported a number of families from his home parish (La Chaussee) in France, to Acadia, New France. During this period of time, Jehan worked as a labourer, residing in the village of Martaize, located just a few kilometers from La Chaussee. Given these two facts (working for Charles de Menou and residing in his close proximity), is it possible that Jehan accepted a 36-month work contract and travelled from Port de la Rochelle (France) to Port Royal (Acadia), and that he and his family (wife Perrine and oldest son, Claude) were one of the twenty french families, on the 1644 voyage.

While historians are unable to confirm Jehan's actual date of death, the Acadia Census of 1681 records "Perrine Brault is the WIDOW of JEHAN TERRIOT". By 1681, many of the "Therriot Family" had moved to Beaubassin, Grand-Pre, Riviere-aux Canards and Cobequid. Historical records indicate, that by the early 1730's, some of the "Terriot Families" had travelled up the St. John River and re-located in areas known today as the Province of New Brunswick. In ear1730, some of the Theriault families travelled up the St. John River and located in what is today known as the Province of New Brunswick. He was married to Perrine (RUAU BOURG) BREAU about 1635 in Loudun, France.